Only your Hairdresser ... er I mean Joe knows for sure...

I think that it's usually the first Monday of the month. But Joe can confirm.

I'm getting anxious too!!!

Randy

When? Really after being here 4 years you ask?

It will come out in August !

Mad props for MRH!

That's one of the things I've always liked about MRH - I know when the issue will come out, and it comes out in the month on the cover.  I've never understood the logic of a "July" issue showing up anywhere between June 1st and August 31st (as another model railroad magazine has done with unfortunate regularity).  For that matter, it makes no sense to me that we'll soon be able to buy 2013 models at car dealerships (if we can't already).

Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine is exactly what it says on the cover, right down to the date!

Cover dates on printed magazines

One has to understand the dynamics of the publishing industry in order to  understand why the recent issue of Model Railroader is September.

First of all that September issue was probably mailed from the printer's location about July 20th. And the magazine was completed and sent to the printer around the middle of June if not earlier. The magazine in question was probably put together during the months of April and May by the editor and his assistants, It was then put together by others during the time between completion and it being sent to the printer by all those responsible for inserting advertising an page layout. Now this may not seem like a hard job until you consider the fact that as late as the 1980s this was largely a manual process. Things have been speeded up due to automation and the fact that most of this is now done on computers. Add to that the fact that the printing is now done on high speed equipment and the assembly process and ;labeling for shipping is also a machine process.

In years gone by the process was less automated than it is today and the delivery process for mail highly dependent on the available means of transportation which until the availability of trains and then other highly automated processes cut the time between printing and delivery to a matter of days rather than weeks or months.

MRH probably still relies a great on manual processes to get it done but its delivery time is virtually instantaneous when it is completed. Think of this when you wonder why you are receiving the September issue of Model Railroader.

The printing and dissemination of various information items can be modeled on a layout, but these days its mostly based on trucking or even air freight delivery. Trains are not used as much as they once were and that has a lot to do with how quickly certain information becomes dated,

So don't write off the printing industry because its going to years before centralized printing plants are replaced with local ones and when that happens bookstores and newsstands are going to become data outlets where customers are going to be able to order a book, magazine or newspaper printed on paper supplied b,y that outlet or on DVDs for self printing. I would estimate that our children or grandchildren will see this as the norm rather than as the exception.

Irv.

Nothing against the printing industry

You make some good points, Irv, but it still doesn't explain why a magazine with a September date is in the hands of the public in July.  It's not that hard to estimate delivery dates and put things in the mail at the appropriate time - figure a week to be generous, so send the magazines out in the last week of August.

I think it has a lot more to do with one-upping the competition.  "You can get your September issue sooner with us than with them."  Of course, that starts a race in which magazines are available months early (and therefore ads have to be planned months in advance, have nothing to do with the cover date, etc.), cars are available 6 months before the new year, etc. etc.

Actually, there was a purpose to the date on the cover

The date on the cover of a magazine was the date the bookstore/magazine store was supposed to pull it down off the shelf in preparation for the next issue.  So Sept, really means pull off the shelf Sept 1, to be replaced by the October issue if not already.

Nowadays the bookstores never order enough issues so they don't last that long anyway.

Let's call it a tradition

The cover date, as someone else pointed out is the date when the unsold copies of the magazine should be removed from display and returned for credit. However, they do not return the whole magazine but just the cover or part of it. What happens to the rest?

It goes into the trash. Ever wonder how cities like New York have such trash headaches? Well now you know.

Also consider why enough copies aren't always available? They don't want to pay the bill for the trash to be hauled away as this isn't a free service for commercial establishments. So they would rather forgo a few sales than have to pay the trash people to haul it away as this could amount to a significant expense for many places.

Irv

Returning your magazine for credit

If you don't like an issue of MRH, you can return it for double credit on the cover price (wink).

August issue will be a week late

Ordinarily, we deliver the magazine on the first Monday of the month.

However, we've had a lot of elderly parent issues in the last week and you just can't tell them "see ya later".

So family came first (for both me and my wife, who does a lot of the magazine pasteup), and we're pushing the August and September issue release dates out one week. We expect to be caught up again come the October issue. Our goal with delays is to take the hit up front (rather than sweep it under the rug) and to give you a new date we fully expect to hit.

When you're a small outfit, some things just can't be helped. We apologize for the delay, but hope you will all understand.

Not problem Joe...

I still have things in the July issue I want to absorb! 

I had a time when an elderly parent took much of my time. I would still like to have them back to talk to and learn things I didn't know then I wanted to know. It happens to nearly all of us at some point. My son will be up next at some point. Not soon, I hope!!

What is Truly Important in this World

Glad to see you are keeping your perspectives straight.

Take what you need...

Take what you need Joe, we'll be here when you get back!

Having recently seen my elderly mother through 4+ month long battle against Clostridium Difficile and then ultimately losing her on the 24th of June, just days after doctors gave her a "clean bill of health", I understand completely.

Best wishes to you & yours.

Gee Joe....

I haven't run across an MRH I don't like but it's nice to know I can return it for credit when I do.....how do I get the cover off to send it back??? LOL!!!

Michael

P.S. Hope all is well with the parents. Take your time, we can wait.

Easy Peasy!

That's easy, Noah.  There are programs available on line (I have one somewhere, though I use it so rarely that I don't remember what it's called) which will strip a single page out of a larger PDF document.  Run the issue through that program and e-mail the cover back to Joe for a full refund.

Sorry about your mom Kevin

Unfortunatley there is still alot more to learn about C-Diff. I was an LPN in long term care for 12 years and next to Mersa, C-diff is something you cant take lightly., Again sorry for your loss.